Meeting Heroes Continued
by The Glass Jellyfish
Summary: Karina finds herself inside the Marvel universe. She has no idea how she got there though, and has no idea how to get home... Not that she wants to leave. Ever. Continued from darkblade1163's story :)
1. Agent Sabrine

**Author's Note: I hope you don't mind that I continue this story, but it is my honour and I will try to make it as good as it was before.**

 **Here's the link to the original: (fanfiction address)** **s/10548065/1/Meeting-Heroes**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the following characters; Karina is owned by darkblade1163 and the Avengers and any other recognizable names are all owned by Marvel.**

* * *

A woman in an expensive suit strutted along the pavement. She had a default expression of 'deal with it', and never set a glance to another passerby. She always stared straight ahead, purposefully. It was a statement, to her, as well as an action: she was not a woman to get distracted.

Yet today, something changed. She paused, feeling like she was walking in a shadow. She slowly looked up, to see a giant eagle targeting her. She barely had time to scream as it swooped down and snatched her with its beak. People could only watch, horrified, as she became a speck in the sky, then cry out as she grew whilst she fell from it. She was about to hit the very spot she was standing on before, when all of sudden, she just... vanished.

A blonde girl who had been near the woman felt goosebumps crawl over her flesh. This was the beginning of something massive.

* * *

The Avengers sat around the meeting table, looking troubled. Karina, for once, wasn't present; Tony had given her an HMV gift card, and soon after she had evaporated to the downtown streets of New York, with only a tracker keeping watch of her.

"Avengers, I think you know why we're here. As lovely as Karina is, we have to address the fact that we teared the fabric of the universe and let an innocent girl from another dimension fall into our world. I wish I could say that this isn't an issue, but already we have seen some of the consequences." Stark said, large circles around his eyes, standing in front of a large screen. On it played scenes of monsters arriving spontaneously from nowhere; people disappearing; thousands of pigeons crash landing into the ground.

"What can we do?" Bruce asked. Tony sighed.

"Well ever since the first report I've been working non-stop to find a solution, but so far nothing has seemed to fit. It's almost like... It wasn't only us who activated it. All evidence points towards the fact that someone on the other side helped open the portal, and if that's true... I don't know how we're going to get Karina home." He replied, turning away from them to look out the window. Even from here he could see the havoc.

"How about we change our objective?" Steve offered. "Let's focuse on getting rid of these monsters and stop anything from coming in, then we can think of how to get someone out."

"That's an idea." Natasha agreed.

"I'm all with it if it involves knocking those beasts down. I've got a few experiments I'd like to test out." Clint said, examining one of his arrows.

"Aye. Mjolnir is becoming restless; we have not battled since Karina's arrival." Thor chimed in. Stark sat down again, looking defeated but with a new spark of hope in his eyes.

"Okay. It's worth a shot. Now if you could please excuse me, my bedroom is calling..." He stumbled out the room.

"Who's going to check he's not fallen asleep in the hallway again?" Rogers asked halfheartedly.

"I'll do it." Karina said from the doorway.

* * *

 _Ten minutes earlier..._

Karina skipped amongst surprised passerbys, clutching the HMV card. Man, wouldn't it be funny if they had any Marvel films here? Wonder if there are the same actors? Probably not - this is an alternate universe, K. She scolded herself for being so stupid as she walked into the shopping center. Hey, why do they have an HMV here? Weird how some things are the same and some aren't...

She made a bee line for the DVD section. Harriet Peter, Percy Jayson, Enemies... It seemed like spoof city! But which one to get? Would they be basically the same as the ones at home? Home... Wonder how things are there.

"Can I help you?" Someone asked next to her.

"No, I'm fine thanks." She replied without looking at their face. Then she felt a cold metallic lump being pressed into her side, and she gulped. She wished she had brought her inhaler.

"You sure 'bout that?" He growled. Definitely a he, she noted this time. His breath stank of garlic and chewing gum. And this man, almost certainly, was threatening her with a gun.

"What do you want?" Her voice sounded faint and squeaky.

"We know where you're from, so come with us or we'll force you." She didn't like the notion of 'we', but swallowed a wave of fear and nodded.

"Excuse me, Tim, but I think you have the wrong person." A young woman with a vague English accent placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked confused for a second, met her dangerous glare, and shrugged.

"Boss said to look for this girl," He held up a photo of Karina. "And this is her."

The atmosphere suddenly went from chilled-yet-slightly-scary to tense in seconds. Karina got the sense that this woman was not someone to cross. Well, she was right about that.

In a blur of motion the woman flipped Tim to the floor, disarmed him, and soon was propelling the poor girl out of the shop and towards a cafe.

"Who are you?" Karina asked as soon as they were sat down and had caught her breath. The woman looked shocked for a moment, then her features settled calmly.

"Stark didn't tell you? I'm your bodyguard. I was meant to shadow you in case anything went wrong, so sorry if I've scared you." She replied earnestly.

"Not as much as Tim." She sighed; in response the woman smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry - I don't think anyone will bother you now they know I'm here." She winked.

"What's your name?" Karina queried, taking a closer look and absorbing her appearance; she had dark blonde hair, hazel eyes and was dressed in a leathery bikers suit. Strapped to her legs and waist were an assortment of weapons, including knives and a few of what seemed to be smoke bombs. Her hands were gloved and held a pair of aviator sunglasses; she wore sturdy boots which Karina could see kicking a lot of ass. Literally.

"Agent Sabrine." She said, running a hand through her short hair, which spiked out at the sides. She reminded her of someone, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it...

"Now listen, I know we've only just met, but you should probably go back to Stark Towers and find the Avengers. And could you tell them... I know how to get you home. We don't have much time." The agent held out her hand. Karina was bubbling with questions, yet nodded silently and took it. Suddenly the scene around them changed, and she was outside the Avengers meeting room.

"You can tele-?" She stopped when she realized she was alone. The hum of engines told her she was in the helicarrier, and familiar voices led her to a door. She waited in the shadows, when Stark tripped out and zig-zagged down the corridor.

"Who's going to check he's not fallen asleep in the hallway again?" She heard Captain America say. She went to the entrance and raised her hand like she was in class.

"I'll do it."

* * *

 **Hope this is as good as the original!**

 **Language... - Captain America**


	2. Plan of action

**Author's Note: So here's chapter two! Well I guess technically it's chapter nineteen, but still... It's a chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. :D**

* * *

"Karina? How did you get up here?" Steve asked, eyes wide. She cocked her head to one side as if it were obvious.

"Agent Sabrine took me here. Oh, and she told me to tell you that she knows how to get me home."

"What?" Tony appeared at her side, instantly wide awake. She shrugged.

"She said we had to act fast, and-" She cut off as Stark grabbed her shoulders; he stared deep into her eyes, looking a bit like a mad man.

"What did this woman look like?" He growled.

"Um dark blonde hair, hazel eyes, in a biker suit... why?" She asked shyly; she didn't like this change of mood at all. He turned away, striding down the corridor to his lab without answering. Karina looked at the only woman in the room for guidance.

"What was that about?" Karina said, exasperated and feeling a little like crying. What? She just had one of her favourite characters growl at her - that had stung. A lot.

"There is no Agent Sabrine." Natasha replied coldly, standing up along with the other Avengers as they moved out.

* * *

"Sabrine... Sabrine... Where are you? Argh!" Tony kicked a random nearby object in frustration, which happened to be a coffee table. He winced, returning to the screen like a robot.

"Jarvis, you got anything yet?"

"No sir. Hold on - I'm getting an incoming message-"

"I know how to get Karina home; you need to look for a version of a man named Alex DiAngelo. He activated a portal in the Middle Place, which is a world trapped between this universe and hers: if you find him maybe he can help you. He often travels to parallel dimensions, and for some reason he took a liking to Karina and decided to make her dreams come true. There's a chance he's somewhere here, watching over her." A woman's voice cut over Jarvis', and as she talked the room went blank of screens apart from one which displayed the profile of a young man with pearl white hair and crystal blue eyes. Tony began researching the moment she said the name, and smiled that he had at last been given a starting point.

"Jarvis...?" He spoke to the empty room.

"I am finding the location of where I was hacked, but currently I cannot identify the woman who spoke, sir. She seemingly came from nowhere - I believe that is how Karina was brought to the helicarrier." The mass computer system replied. He sighed with relief that she hadn't destroyed anything on her visit.

"Working on voice recognition?"

"I am trying, sir."

"Well try harder. Alert the team - we need to find this man, and ask Karina some questions about "Agent Sabrine", see if that's the same woman who just hacked us." Tony ordered, before returning to the meeting room.

"Very well, sir."

* * *

"The Middle Place?" Thor said the words, seeing if his tongue remembered saying them. His mouth didn't, though in his brain flickered a vague memory.

"Have you heard of it?" Steve asked the God of thunder. He nodded slowly.

"Yes, I think... But Asgardians have another name for it. We call it the Aesir - dreamland - where supposedly our ancestors have gone when they became deceased, yet also a place of great magic. We believe it is the only realm where not one same logic applies to it's grounds; I'm not even sure if it's classed as a realm..." He replied, recalling private lessons with his mother on Norse mythology.

"Is an Alex DiAngelo mentioned anywhere?" Clint queried. He shook his head. Natasha sighed.

"Great, so now we know what the Middle Place is, shall we actually get on with our mission?" She said. The rest of the team muttered in agreement.

"So Tony, before he gracefully passed out onto the sofa, suggested to track down Alex and interrogate him. Hawkeye and Widow, you can do that. Meanwhile, Banner you stay with Karina, and Thor and I will deal with the monsters. Are we clear?" Cap concluded. Everyone nodded. He took a deep breath and was about to speak, when Karina practically jumped up and down with excitement.

"Ooh, can I say it? Please?" She squealed. He murmured a reluctant 'yes'. She beamed the greatest smile you've ever seen, speaking the words she'd heard, watched and read countless times beforehand.

"Avengers, assemble!"

* * *

 **I know that ending's cheesy, but I bet you wished you were Karina in that moment! Sorry if this chapter's a tad shorter than the last one...**

 **I just pay for everything and design everything, make everyone look cooler. - Tony**


	3. Good-bye Sabrine

**Author's Note: I wrote this chapter based on the vibes I felt whilst listening to one of my favourite soundtracks - I hope you like it. :D**

* * *

For Karina, time seemed to slow down. The avengers moved with speed in reality, yet for her they were captured in a moment of graceful purposefulness. She smiled. Woah. This was happening. These people - heroes - were going to fight for her sake. She felt so... blessed. Though somehow a negative thought wormed its way into her brain: she was so small, so weak compared to these gods. So human. At least at home she didn't feel dwarfed. Home... She wanted her parents, her friends, now more than ever. Time stopped as she curled into a ball on the floor. Echoes of voices rippled around the curves of her bubble. She was surrounded by people wanting to help her, and yet she realized she was very alone.

"I know that feeling all too well." Someone whispered in her brain. She looked to the side; there, crouched next to her was the one and only Norse God of mischief, but acting out of character. Solemn, sympathetic. The hairs on the back of Karina's neck stood up - something was at work here.

"You've done this, haven't you?" She asked, meaning her state of mind. His face contorted with innocence and a flicker of shock.

"And if I had?" She turned to face him properly, staring at him with such intensity, as if she were trying to dissolve his presence. No, not dissolve; preserve.

"Then I am truly sorry for you." She replied, before swiping at his image. He faded, but slowly enough that she could see a slice of the broken, desperate man he was seep into his lagoon green eyes.

"Good-bye Loki." She muttered. She couldn't help but feel bad for the guy. Almost wished she could help him. Almost.

"Right guys, where were we?" She said standing up, then frowned. Huh. Everything was frozen - she hadn't been caught up to speed yet.

"Loki..." She growled. Coughed. Check her voice was working; did she really just growl?

Suddenly a fierce pain stabbed her in the head, throbbing at her temples and causing her to keel and cry out. An image of a familiar man surfaced in her mind's eye, who looked distressed.

"Karina, there is a problem with the portal. We can't get you home until it is fixed, but we are sending someone to your world to see if something has happened there. After that, we're blocking it, so no more monsters will come your way. The person we're sending is-" The message went garbled as Alex DiAngelo (Karina recognised his unmistakable face) struggled to communicate telepathically with the girl. He hadn't used telepathy in a while, and he was a bit rusty.

"The woman who said her name was Agent Sabrine!" He managed to mentally shout before losing consciousness. Unfortunately, this had an effect on Karina, and soon she collapsed back onto the ground.

* * *

"Teddy bears make great pets..." Karina murmured in her sleep. Dr Banner had stayed behind with her, to be entertained with random sentences which joined up to be a crazy story imagined in her dreamland. He seriously wondered if she had been drugged, but nope, no signs of injections or any evidence in her blood. It was like someone had melted her brain and she was trying to mould it back together again. He doubted he was going to get many straight answers when she woke up.

"No Loki, don't take Agent Sabrine to my world. Alex! Shut the portal! I don't care, I don't want to go home, I don't want to..." His ears pricked up at the mention of familiar names. Loki? Agent Sabrine? Alex? Maybe he should go check on the prisoner quickly, just to be sure her words really were meaningless drabble... Or better, dial someone else to do that for him.

"Hey Coulson? Yeah, she's fine, but she's saying something about Loki in her sleep. Would you go check the monster's in his cage for me? Thanks." He spoke into the phone quickly. Then sighed calmly. This was the most peace he'd had in a while, with no stress. Well, other than the other guy. _He_ hated this, yet something in Banner enjoyed his suffering. Yeah, he was effectively laughing at his own discomfort, though technically he was two people in one. Two people... Talk about split personality disorder! Perhaps he should go see a therapist some time. Nah, they'd be too scared in case he got 'angry'. Heck he was always angry. Why couldn't people see that? Like he was a good actor. Or, according to Karina's DVD, maybe he was. Ha - not on this planet! Can you imagine? "And here we have Bruce Banner starring as Zack in Titania..." He nearly laughed at his own joke.

"You alright there Bruce?" Karina's voice made him jump.

"Yeah, amazing," He replied a little sarcastically, smiling. "When did you wake up?"

"Just a second ago." She said. She had sat herself up in the bed, and was currently scratching her head.

"Am I in the sick bay?" She asked. He nodded. She immediately threw off the covers like they were cobwebs.

"Hate these places. So... sterile. They remind me of when I used to visit my friend in hospital. She was born with a cleft lip, and had to have, ah, several operations over the years. Some of them..." She shuddered. "I mean I know it was all to help her but still."

"Meanwhile it's my home." He said, patting the arm of his chair.

"I didn't think you were that kind of doctor." She frowned. "I know you worked with some village people and helped them with illness and injury, but I never pictured you in a hospital."

"Well, I'm looking into it. Anyway, while you were sleeping, as well as muttering something about clouds and tortoise factories, you said something about Loki, Alex and Agent Sabrine. Care to share?"

"Of course. For one thing, you can let the others know that we won't find Sabrine in this world, and that pretty soon there won't be any more monsters." She said, springing from the mattress in an act of getting up.

"Where are you going?" He queried. She walked out the door, calling behind her.

"Out."

* * *

"-And you let her go? Why?" Tony demanded, holding Bruce by the scruffs. He managed to shrug.

"She needed the air."

"Needed the air? Right. Of course. You let Karina out of our sight because she claimed she needed space. And now where is she? Tell me that, eh?"

"Boys, boys, stop your playground fighting. I only took Karina for a little chat before I go." A short haired woman in black clothes with a faint British accent interrupted. Next to her was Karina, looking sheepish, suddenly present next to them.

"Oh you ain't going until you give us answers." Tony replied, focusing his anger onto her.

"Are you on your period? Maybe you need some air too." She said coolly. She wafted her hand casually, and all the fury left him like air from a balloon.

"Now, if you excuse me I'm going to do some trans-universal travelling and figure out how to get Karina home. See you fellow heroes in a bit!" She waved her hand, winked, disappeared. Karina slowly met the gazes of the others guiltily. To her relief, they all looked more surprised than annoyed, probably thanks no small part to Sabrine. Though she could feel a large explanation being required to satisfy their trust.

"Sorry?" She shrugged, unsure of what to do. Then her breathing became shallower as it dawned on her the possible outcomes of her actions. What if they hate her forever? What if the portal can't be fixed? What if Agent Sabrine doesn't survive it? What if _she_ doesn't survive it?

All she heard were the words, "GET THE INHALER," before darkness stole her vision and plunged her into a world of silence.

* * *

 **Dun dun DUN! Wow, Karina sure likes passing out. Or will she wake up this time? Who knows? Oh yeah, I do, and so will you if you read onto the next chapter...**

 **Ultron can't see the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that? - Wanda Maximoff**


	4. Awakening

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been a while, and I hope you don't mind... in fact I'll apologize at the end before I give away any spoilers.**

 **Ooh, yeah! Possibly future spoilers about Thor :Dark World and Avengers 2 in any of the remaining story.**

* * *

"Not again..." Karina groaned, sitting up and rubbing her forehead. She thought to herself, "if there was one thing I could cure it would be this social anxiety, then I could deserve to be amongst these gods. Speaking of which..." Her eyes lifted to meet the closed ones of Thor's. He was asleep, mouth gaping to reveal a set of gleaming white teeth. She rolled her eyes, then felt her head sink back into a pillow as blood rush caught up with her. As she lay there, she became aware of her surroundings. The beeping machine, the purposeful footsteps, the sterile room...

"Holy shit, I'm in a hospital!" Karina shrieked, throwing off the covers and grabbing Thor by the shoulders.

"Why am I here? What happened? Ow," She gasped as a pain shot through her head, forcing her to the hard floor. She felt a hand on her back, and in a second she was back in the bed. The God of Thunder examined her while he spoke, now wide awake and no small amount of shock dancing across his face.

"Calm down; you're at the new Avengers Head Quarters. You've been sleeping for a very long time. No-one really knows why, only that it could not have been merely your social anxiety which put you into this state." He said. She noticed he had some bandages on, not really paying attention to what he was saying. She suddenly had a huge desire to help others, and stroked a dressing on his arm.

"What happened?" She asked; he stiffened.

"Many things. Yet for now, I must tell the others." He turned and walked out of the room, hobbling a little as though he were stiff. Karina instinctively rushed out and allowed him to lean on her. At first he resisted, but after a moment let her aid him.

"You've been fighting, haven't you? How come I always miss the big stuff?" She sighed against his frame, as if it was completely natural to help a buff hero down the corridor. Her old self would have been having an inside melt down, yet she felt calm. Yeesh, how many drugs had they pumped into her?

"It'd be great if there was someone telepathic on this team so you could just send me the past events for... Wait how long was I out?" At the mention of telepathy her mind was instantly drawn to Loki.

"A few... months... years..." Thor's voice rippled on the surface of her mind like a memory; it didn't quite sink in as they continued to stroll down a seemingly endless corridor. Karina smiled randomly - something like that could only happen in a world like this.

"Tell me, Thor; are we walking to somewhere or just delaying an explanation?" Woah. When did she start sounding so wise and intelligent?

He laughed.

"You sound a like my brother." He grinned, then his expression suddenly darkened. A deep sadness poured out of his face and into her heart, filling her with dread.

"What happened?" Karina asked softly, touching his cheek. Not in a flirtatious way; he had a girlfriend, and anyway she preferred Loki in a weird sort of a... Oh no...

She remembered. Thor: Dark World. Of course.

"You think he's dead don't you." She sighed, still using a gentle tone. He flinched away from her, halting their stride.

"How do you know? And what in Odins beard do you mean by 'think'? I saw him die myself!" He spat the words, tears threatening to spill, but as with every time he spoke of his brother there was a lingering doubt which insisted reckoning with.

"Or did you?" She said; he rose with anger, preparing to retort, when she quickly recovered herself. She did not want to piss off this guy; she had seen him in action, and wanted no part of it.

"I'm just saying what your subconscious is thinking. Since when have you ever been able to trust Loki? He's as insecure as the Joker! A reference which you won't get, but still! He's insanely unpredictable and needs psychological help."

He backed down.

"You talk of him as if he is alive." Thor said incredulously.

"I know he is. Sat on that throne, pretending to be the All-Father, about to get himself into some even deeper shit." She replied smoothly, then sauntered coolly away from him, feeling awesome about her line, and majorly worried about how this would affect the future plot of Avengers films.

* * *

 **So, there you have it!**

 **Like I was going to say, sorry if you don't like the crossover - was not initially going to do it, but technically it's all the avengers so...**

 **Plus I needed to beef up the plot a bit.**

 **Hope you liked it, folks!**

 **If you believe in peace then let us keep it - Thor**

 **I think you're confusing peace with quiet - Anonymous robot**


End file.
